Stocks That Could Go Up on Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Target: the expected rise from the open to the day’s high; confidence: the chance we gave it of getting there. “To the high” and “to the close” are counted from the 9:30 AM opening price.

1. 1

   Capital One Financial (COF)

   Financials · +3.2% pre-market (about +5% after hours on Tuesday)

   ▲ +1.5% target

   60% confidence

   EarningsCapital One Q3 adjusted EPS of $6.69 beats estimates by $1.19; net interest margin rises to 8.41% — Investing.com

   Capital One earned an adjusted $6.69 a share in the third quarter, $1.19 (about 22%) above estimates, on $16.3 billion of revenue, up 3% from the prior quarter. Its net interest margin rose 40 basis points to 8.41% and it released $225 million of loan reserves, a sign of steadier credit. A clean beat on both margin and credit tends to keep buyers coming after the open.

   Risk: Management said it will spend more on marketing, which could cap the gain if investors focus on costs.

   From $206.37 at 9:30 AM:high +2.48% at 10:32 AMclose +0.14%day +2.53%✓ Reached +1.5%
2. 2

   Elevance Health (ELV)

   Health care · +1.8% pre-market

   ▲ +1.5% target

   58% confidence

   EarningsElevance Health Q3 adjusted EPS of $6.99 tops $4.70 consensus; 2026 outlook raised to at least $29 — Investing.com

   Elevance earned an adjusted $6.99 a share against a $4.70 consensus, a 49% beat, and raised its full-year adjusted EPS floor to at least $29.00 and its operating cash flow outlook to at least $6.5 billion. A beat that size with a higher outlook, against only a 1.8% pre-market gain, leaves room for the stock to extend after the open.

   Risk: Revenue grew only 0.7% to $50.4 billion, so doubts about the quality of the beat could stall the move.

   From $445.00 at 9:30 AM:high +1.28% at 9:31 AMclose −2.44%day −1.37%✗ Missed +1.5%
3. 3

   Super Micro Computer (SMCI)

   Information technology · +12% pre-market to $36.43 on 5.2 million shares by 9:17 AM ET

   ▲ +3% target

   55% confidence

   GuidanceSuper Micro raises fiscal Q1 revenue forecast to $18.5–19.5 billion, above the $14.99 billion consensus — Investing.com

   Super Micro lifted its preliminary fiscal first-quarter revenue range to $18.5–19.5 billion from $14.5–15.5 billion, about 27% above the $14.99 billion consensus at the midpoint, and raised its gross margin range to 12.0–12.5% from 10.4–10.8%. A raise on both sales and margins is the strongest kind of same-day catalyst, and the stock's usual intraday swings make a 3% push above the open reachable.

   Risk: Already up about 12% before the open, the stock may give part of the gap back before it adds 3%.

   From $36.42 at 9:30 AM:high +2.83% at 9:33 AMclose −2.33%day +9.55%✗ Missed +3%
4. 4

   SpaceX (SPCX)

   Industrials · +8.3% pre-market to $159.74 on 14.6 million shares by 9:17 AM ET

   ▲ +3% target

   54% confidence

   EarningsSpaceX Q3 revenue of $14.6 billion beats $12.87 billion estimate; Musk says committees are weighing a Tesla merger — Investing.com

   SpaceX earned an adjusted $0.35 a share against a $0.15 consensus on revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% from a year earlier and about $1.7 billion above estimates, with net income of $4.4 billion. Elon Musk also said independent special committees are evaluating a possible merger with Tesla. Two catalysts at once and very heavy pre-market volume give the stock room to push higher after the open.

   Risk: Merger talk without terms can cut both ways, and an 8% gap invites profit-taking.

   From $160.56 at 9:30 AM:high +3.50% at 10:03 AMclose −0.78%day +7.79%✓ Reached +3%
5. 5

   Tesla (TSLA)

   Consumer discretionary · +1.6% pre-market to $379.58

   ▲ +2% target

   52% confidence

   DealMusk says special committees are evaluating a potential SpaceX-Tesla merger — Investing.com

   Tesla is up 1.6% to 2% before the bell after Elon Musk said independent special committees are evaluating a merger with SpaceX, citing synergies in AI software, chip design, robotics and connectivity. SpaceX's quarter, with revenue up 161% to $14.6 billion, adds weight to the idea, and Tesla's usual daily swings make a 2% rise from the open reachable.

   Risk: Tesla reports after today's close, which may keep buyers cautious, and no merger terms are public.

   From $381.43 at 9:30 AM:high +1.94% at 9:51 AMclose +1.32%day +3.41%✗ Missed +2%
6. 6

   Micron Technology (MU)

   Information technology · +3.2% pre-market to $924.50

   ▲ +2% target

   50% confidence

   SectorSuper Micro's raised forecast and SpaceX's beat lift memory and AI chip stocks — MoneyCheck

   Micron is up 3.2% before the bell as Super Micro's revenue forecast, raised by about $4 billion at the midpoint, points to stronger AI server demand, which needs large amounts of memory. South Korea's Kospi rose 3.29% overnight and Nvidia is up about 1.9% pre-market, so the chip group has support going into the open.

   Risk: This is a sympathy move with no company news, and Meta's spending guidance after the close could shift the group either way.

   From $923.74 at 9:30 AM:high +0.51% at 9:32 AMclose −1.09%day +1.96%✗ Missed +2%
7. 7

   DigitalOcean (DOCN)

   Information technology · +3.7% pre-market

   ▲ +2.5% target

   50% confidence

   UpgradePiper Sandler upgrades DigitalOcean to Overweight from Neutral; target $126 — Investing.com

   Piper Sandler raised DigitalOcean to Overweight from Neutral, with a $126 price target (down from $142), and the stock is 3.7% higher before the bell. Upgrades of mid-cap cloud stocks often bring a full day of follow-through buying, and AI infrastructure names are rising this morning.

   Risk: The lower price target shows the firm trimmed its numbers, which may limit buying after the open.

   From $103.43 at 9:30 AM:high +0.94% at 9:30 AMclose −1.89%day +2.01%✗ Missed +2.5%

1. Premarket movers: Super Micro, SCHMID Group and SpaceX surge — Investing.com
2. After-Hours Movers: NFLX, SPCX, SMCI, ISRG, COF, UAL, PEGA — Investing.com
3. Capital One Financial Corp - Form 8-K, third quarter 2026 earnings release — SEC EDGAR
4. Today's Market Movers: SpaceX Jumps on Earnings and Tesla Merger Talks as Netflix Falls — CoinCentral
5. Today's Market Movers: SpaceX and Tesla Merger Talks Lift Stocks Before Meta Earnings — MoneyCheck
6. Premarket Movers — StockMarketWatch

• Every trading day at 9:00 AM ET, before the 9:30 AM open, we read last night’s and the morning’s company news — earnings and guidance, analyst upgrades, deals and contracts, product and regulatory news, index changes — and pick the 6–10 liquid US stocks most likely to rise that day.
• Each pick gets a target (the expected rise from the open to the day’s high) and a confidence (the chance of getting there), and we weigh the size of the surprise, the pre-market move and the market’s mood. Stocks under $5, thinly traded ones, and targets of cash takeovers are left out.
• Each list is measured from the moment it could be acted on: the 9:30 AM opening price, or the minute it went public if that was later. “To the high” is the rise from there to the session’s highest price; “to the close”, to the closing price. A pick reaches its target when its rise to the high is at least the target.
• The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) over the same minutes is shown as the bar to beat. Results are live while the market trades and final after the close; every past list stays online with its results.